Toddler Getting Out of Bed During Naptime

With my 2 1/2 yr old....we just put a simple baby gate in her doorway for nap time only...we use it at night if she keeps getting up too. Anyways...she will get up still, however she has to stay in her room for my designated nap time...most times she will nap...others...not...but she is still in her room for a "quiet time"....ect. I hope that this helps. Oh and she does have some books and toys in her room...not many, but she has always had them so I cannot take them away now.

I don't know how old he is, but even if he doesn't sleep, maybe he could play quietly in his bed instead...sometimes this works because the stimulus is decreased and they might even go to sleep if they get bored enough. I have my daughter take a "nap" when she is at home- she can go to sleep or play quietly in her daybed. This usually works best because she is quite resistent to the whole idea anyway! ha ha ha

You didn't say how old he was.
Well my suggestion is you treat it the same as if he got out of bed at night, keep putting him back, be firm and tell him he is NOT to get out of bed until after naptime.
Some kids give up naps sooner then others. You can get blackout curtains or shades too to keep the room dark.

If he refuses naps there isn't anything you can do to force sleep during the day but when my kids gave them up I upped bedtime by 30 to 45 minutes earlier. My son went to bed at 6:30 when he gave up naps. He needed the sleep, slept all night and it was easier getting him to bed earlier then fight about naps anymore.

My daughter is a really good napper, but I have a routine with bedtime. Starts with Lunch, and sometimes a book and/or song. She usually gets a drink right before (she just swallows a little water, she's funny...just a habit!)
Just lately, when she is not so keen on taking naps, I usually give her something to look forward to when she wakes up too..."Time to go nigh night then we will go and pick up (older Brother) from school! Just be matter of fact, and when he gets out of bed, say, "Time to go nigh night so we can____go play outside"(or whatever.)
Hope this helps!

K.,

Pick your battles. He is not going to stay in bed. So, we put a gate up at the door. We leave him in his room for at least an hour, some times more. Sometimes he falls asleep on the bed, someties on the floor, sometimes not at all. But he has quiet alone time and if he skips his nap, then he usually gets an early dinner/bed time. It is a new skill, new freedom and you are fighting a loosing battle. However, that being said, we are much more strict at bedtime. We use the super nanny technique. My veiw is that nap time is not a life long skill. Sleeping at night is.

If you consistently put him back to bed, making sure it is not fun for him, eventually he should learn. My daughter went through the same thing, and my husband was at home with her at the time, and he just made sure she knew napping was not an option, and she did eventually get it and naps just fine now. YOu just have to be firm about it. My daughter who is almost 3 still takes a 2 -3 hour nap and needs it.

My daughter did the same thing. She really needed naps or she would get extremely crabby and unreasonable. What I did was put up a pack-n-play and she takes a nap in that. To help her sleep better I put it in my walk-in closet where it is really dark. She loves nap time now and even sleeps longer than before. (Probably only due to it being completely dark.)

Good luck!
M.

My daughter that just turned 3 is also having these same issues. As someone stated, keep putting him back and telling him to stay in bed. I know it will take you several days of going back into his room to remind him, but trust me it will pay off. Show him that you mean what you say, thats my biggest advise as a parent myself. You never stated how young your son was, but I really believe any child under 5 still needs some rest time to just relax and think about their day. My son outgrew naps by 3, but he still gets quiet time to hang out and be alone in his room and read or play while his 3 y/o sister sleeps. Nap times are very important in this house and everyone gets their rest time :)

Call it quiet time. The rule is that he stay in his room with the lights out. He can look at books or play quietly if he is in his bed, but if he gets out, no toys or books. You'll have to stay nearby to enforce for a while. Being quiet and in a dark, calm room can help him fall asleep. (My son went to daycare at 4, he'd given up naps a year before, but when they had naptime/quiettime he started napping again!)

Lots and lots of patience. We had the same problem, I'm sure everybody does when they move to the big bed. We just told her she had to stay in her room. Usually she would eventually get so tired that she would fall asleep on her floor. After a couple of weeks, she learned that it was better to sleep in bed. We still have days now and then when she just plays in the for a couple of hours and then comes out. Is she grumpy? Yes. But you force them to sleep, so you just deal with it.

Hey there K.
at a certain point there is no need for a nap. I suggest that if you want him to rest or have quiet time you can let him watch a movie and teach him that you can only get up when the movie is over. And if it music you choose then use music. Good luck and god bless

Hi K.,
I have a similar problem with my DD some days. Usually there is something fun going on after nap that she'll want to be fresh for so I remind her of it. Otherwise, I use the baby gate as a threat (she really does NOT want me to put it up in the doorway!) If she won't stay in bed, at least she's in there, hopefully quiet, and I get a break. Whether or not she sleeps is out of my hands, more often than not she does pass out, sometimes on top of objects in her bed, and once or twice on the floor---at least she's sleeping though!
GOOD JOB MOMMIN'!
A.

I would let him get out of bed, but have a strict no leaving the room policy....My kids would fall asleep in bed with toys or on the floor everytime. (But keep in mind most of my kids toys were in a seperate room, I mainly keep just books in their rooms.